...for festive decorations...which the cat enjoys playfully batting around, and when they fall and shatter you simply can't get upset.

...for watching "Charlie Brown" and Jimmy Stewart and Cary grant -- or for kitty footprints in the snow.

...for going to indoor farmers' markets and signing up for the Foodshed Buying Club.

...for considering whether you should take a second job while you still can -- before children pop into the immediate life plan -- or at least opening an Etsy shop.

...for thinking about the next holiday season, and how you insist it will be simpler and, in our case, as close to a Dickens novel as possible. Literally.

...for playing with the idea of getting a buddy for Beardslee.

...for planning several house projects over the impending Christmas holiday, knowing full well that we'll be lucky if one actually gets completed. Better than not planning at all, I suppose.

...for making truly grandiose plans for 2011 and feeling strangely wonderful about them, rather than skeptical and pessimistic (not usually a maker of resolutions).

...for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on the library project at school.

...for the infamous "Candlelight Evening" (and, now, Ommegang festival) which have become die hard traditions for Dave and I.

...for feeling growing excitement over giving your loved ones hard-thought gifts and to just see their faces and enjoy memories together again.

I hope that your holiday season is a wonderful one and that you can take the peace that only comes this time of year into your heart to enjoy! Be looking for my next posts, a few of which were hinted about above.